Kinross shares soar on buyback deal with activist fund Elliott Investment – by Andrew Willis (Globe and Mail – September 20, 2022)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Kinross Gold Corp. struck an agreement Monday with activist investor Elliott Investment Management LP to ramp up its share-buyback program, including a commitment to repurchase US$300-million of its own stock this year, and the miner’s share price soared on the news.

After several weeks of what the Toronto-based company called “constructive discussions” with Elliott, a US$56-billion American hedge fund with a four-decade history of shaking up companies, Kinross said it plans to use money from recent mine sales to double this year’s planned share buyback.

In the next two years, the company pledged it will use 75 per cent of excess cash to repurchase its own stock. Kinross’s share price jumped 9 per cent in early trading on the TSX on Monday, an otherwise lacklustre day for equity markets, after the company announced the agreement. The shares closed at $4.81, up 11 per cent.

“We share a common view that our shares offer a highly compelling investment opportunity and as a result believe that a more substantial share-buyback program is a highly attractive use of excess cash,” said Kinross chief executive Paul Rollinson said in a statement.

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